OMAHA, Neb. – Jennifer Hamson and Lexi Eaton helped BYU hang on in a 52-51 win on the road against Creighton to remain undefeated.

“We really defended well tonight,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. “They forced us to defend for thirty seconds because they run a lot of motion and ball screens. I thought our defensive effort to not allow easy baskets with the shot clock running down was a big factor.”

Hamson scored 20 points and pulled down 13 rebounds to along with five blocks. Eaton chipped in 19 points for the Cougars. BYU (8-0) shot 44.7 percent from the field for the game while holding Creighton (4-4) to 30.2 percent. The win snapped Creighton’s 15-game home win streak.

With BYU clinging to a four-point lead at 51-47 with under a minute left, Creighton cut the lead to two on a tip-in with 31.8 seconds remaining. The Bluejays sent Eaton to the free-throw line with 16 seconds remaining, but she went 1-2 to keep the game within one possession at 52-49.

BYU chose to foul Creighton instead of allowing a potential game-tying 3-pointer, and Creighton hit both shots from the line to cut the lead to one with eight seconds left. After Stephanie Rovetti missed the front end of a 1-and-1, Creighton had a chance to win the game, but the shot fell short and BYU escaped with the win.

Creighton started the game with a quick 6-0 run to take their only lead of the game at 8-3. Led by six points from Eaton, BYU quickly answered with a 14-2 run to retake the lead at 17-10. During the run the Cougars held the Bluejays to just 1-13 shooting.

Leading 23-19, BYU extended its lead with a 6-0 run to take its largest lead of the first half at 29-19. The half would end with a 3-pointer from the Bluejays and a jumper from Hamson to give the Cougars the 31-22 lead at the half.

Hamson led BYU with 12 points and eight rebounds in the first half and Eaton added eight points for the Cougars. As a team the Cougars shot 46.2 percent from the field while holding the Bluejays to 31 percent shooting.

Eaton started the second half with a 3-pointer and a layup jumpstarting a 9-0 run for the Cougars and to take a game-high 18-point lead at 40-22 with 16:44 left in the game.  BYU went cold from the field over the next 10 minutes and Creighton went on a 14-2 run to bring the game back to single digits at 42-36 with just 8:10 left in the game.

After BYU extended the lead back to double digits at 46-36, Creighton went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to three at 46-43 with five minutes remaining in the game.

BYU returns to action against in-state rival Weber State in the Dee Events Center in Ogden, Utah, on Dec. 10 at 7:00 p.m. MST. The game will be broadcast by BYU Radio. 

Postgame Notes

Team

With the win over Creighton, BYU improved its record to 8-0 on the year, its best start since the 2005-06 season when they finished 10-1 prior to starting league play.

For the sixth time on the year, the Cougar women have outrebounded their opponents. Against Creighton they pulled down 35 to the Bluejays 33.

With the 7-2 lead in the blocks category, BYU has recorded more blocks than its opponents in all games played.  They also finished with 10 assists to the Bluejays nine.

For the game, the Cougars finished with 28 points in the paint compared with 18 for the Bluejays.

BYU was up by nine, 31-22 at the break and with the win improved to 7-0 on the season when leading at halftime.

Player

After playing 20 minutes of action, senior center Jennifer Hamson led all players in points, rebounds and in blocks in the first half with 12, eight and three respectively. She finished with her fifth double-double of the year from 20 points and 13 rebounds. Both were game highs. Hamson also finished with a game-high five blocks

For the fifth straight time sophomore Lexi Eaton recorded double digits in scoring with 19, shooting 7 of 10 from the field. She also pulled down four rebounds.

Stephanie Rovetti came off the bench to dish out team highs in assists with three.

Riding a seven-game winning streak, BYU women’s basketball (7-0) takes another road trip this week. The team travels to Omaha to take on Creighton (4-3) on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. CST. Fans can follow the action live on BYU Radio.

About BYU
The 7-0 start to the 2013-14 season is the team’s best start since the 2005-06 campaign when they went 8-0 before losing a home game to NC State.

BYU has four players scoring in double figures while averaging 74 points per and holding opponents to 63 points.  The Cougars have recorded more blocks than opponents in all games and have dished out more assists in six of the seven contests played to date.

BYU returns nine letterwinners and two starters from last year’s team that had a 23-11 record, finished tied for third in the West Coast Conference and competed for the second straight year in the postseason WNIT.

In the coaches’ preseason poll, BYU was picked to finish fourth in the WCC regular season race behind San Diego, Saint Mary’s and league favorite Gonzaga. Senior center Jennifer Hamson was named to the preseason all-conference team, her second such honor.

• Head coach: Jeff Judkins (Utah, ‘78) enters his 13th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #5 Jennifer Hamson, 18.3 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #5 J. Hamson, 9.4 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #4 Kim Beeston, 4.4 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #4 Beeston, 1.7 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #5 Hamson, 3.6 bpg

About Creighton
Creighton University is 4-3 on the season recording wins over South Dakota State, Minnesota, Houston and South Dakota. They have a perfect 4-0 mark at home.

The Bluejays are averaging 62 points per game and grabbing 34 rebounds. Creighton finished last year with a 25-8 record advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament. Nine letterwinners are back including four starters.

Creighton was picked to finish second in their first year competing in the Big East Conference. 

• Head coach: Jim Flanery (Creighton, 1987) 11 seasons
• Team’s leading scorer: #23 Marissa Janning, 17.0 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #23 M. Janning, 5.4 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #23 Janning & #42 Sarah Nelson, 4.0 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #23 Janning & #42 Nelson, 1.3 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #50 B. Rollerson & #55 A. Kamphaus, 1.4 bpg

Series History
The series is tied, 6-6. When playing in Omaha, BYU is 0-5. The last time they met in Omaha was during the 1991-92 season when both team’s competed in the Western Athletic Conference. In that game, Creighton won 92-63.

Most Recent Meeting
These two teams played last year at Energy Solutions Arena on Nov. 28, 2012 where Creighton came from behind to record the 65-62 overtime win.

After a 16-point BYU lead entering the second half, Creighton hit six 3-pointers to cut the Cougars’ advantage to five with 3:10 to play in regulation. A layup and three-point play tied the contest at 54 with just over two minutes to go. Xojian Harry knocked in a jumper, but the Bluejays followed with a layup for a 56-56 tie. Neither team managed to score in the last 20 seconds.

The overtime period featured more back-and-forth scoring, with each team taking the lead at some point. Lexi Eaton was perfect from the charity stripe for a 61-59 BYU advantage with 2:05 remaining. After another tie game, Creighton’s Sarah Nelson sunk the game-winning 3-pointer with 19 seconds left. Both teams made their final points from the free throw line for the final 65-62 score favoring the Bluejays.

What’s Next
After the game at Creighton, the team takes one last short trip during its nonconference schedule. BYU will be in Ogden taking on Weber State on Tuesday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. The Wildcats are the first of three in-state foes that follow for the Cougar women.

BYU will host the University of Utah on Saturday, Dec. 14 and Utah State on Dec. 21 to round out its nonconference portion of the 2013-14 schedule.